Nightly News   |  December 17, 2011

After Kuwait, next stop for troops is home

As troops leave Iraq, they cross the border into Kuwait for the final steps toward departure. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

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>>> the war in iraq is officially over, but there are still u.s. troops in the country preparing to make the long journey home. it begins with a layover in the place where it all began for our troops nine years ago. and our chief foreign correspondent richard engle is there.

>> reporter: a last roll call before going home .

>> it's definitely a great thing. i can't wait to go home.

>> seeing my wife again. spend some time with the family.

>> reporter: the u.s. military command closed in baghdad, but troops are still leaving iraq, crossing the border and coming here to kuwait . kuwait is iraq's official out processing center, where the war is packed up and shipped home.

>> we're all looking forward to getting home. but six months, a year from now, everybody's going look back on it, wow, we were the last people there.

>> reporter: the iraq war was launched from here in kuwait nearly nine years ago. now everything seems in reverse. the troops are leaving from where they once prepared to fight a dictator. the war is ending where it began. tanks are being washed instead of prepped for battle. kuwait 's now being described as the world's biggest parking lot. it's packed with $8 billion worth of vehicles.

>> it's coming all here, it's getting put on the property book and making sure we can account for all the equipment.

>> reporter: for the troops, the procedures are relatively simple but can seem slow and boring. most of the troops spend about five days in kuwait , turning in gear, filling out paperwork, packing and loading. until finally a preflight inspection x-raying weapons in a scene that might terrify the tsa. then as they pass a sign that reads "freedom" the troops move to a holding pen called lockdown. with home so close, kuwait can feel like the worst five-day layover. they play cards and games, but the flights do eventually come.

>> happy to go home.

>> reporter: and after a war that tested and at times tore the nation, the army is going home . richard engle, nbc news, kuwait .